User interface for interactive television systems

ABSTRACT

An interactive television system transmits and displays a television program having an associated channel. The system also transmits and displays an interactive television mode indicator if the displayed television program supports an interactive television mode. The interactive television mode is activated in response to a request from a viewer of the television program to activate the interactive television mode. The system updates a channel status list to indicate that the television program is being viewed in the interactive television mode. The system is also able to handle requests for activating an online television mode. When changing channels, the channel status list is used to restore a previously activated interactive television mode or online television mode for a particular television channel. Two different indicators may be transmitted and displayed to indicate whether the television program supports an interactive television mode and/or an online television mode.

PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/083,413, filed on Mar. 18, 2005, which claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/560,666 filed Apr. 27, 2000, which has issued asU.S. Pat. No. 7,237,253. These applications are herein incorporated byreference in their entirety, and priority is claimed to the earliestapplication. Any disclaimer that may have occurred during theprosecution of the above-referenced applications is hereby expresslyrescinded, and reconsideration of all relevant art is respectfullyrequested.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to an interactive television system that allows aviewer to interact with the broadcaster or developer of a televisionprogram.

BACKGROUND

Until recently, television viewers received and viewed televisionbroadcasts without any opportunity to interact with the broadcaster ofthe television program or the organization associated with thetelevision program content. Newly developed systems, typically referredto as “interactive television systems”, provide bi-directionalcommunications between a viewer of a television program and, forexample, the broadcaster or developer of the television program. Thus,interactive television systems allow a viewer to interact with thebroadcaster or developer of the television program.

In an interactive television system, the television viewer interactswith the broadcaster by participating in polls, playing along with gameshows, or requesting information from advertisers. Additionally,interactive television users can access news headlines, retrieve sportsstatistics, or chat with other sports fans or other viewers that sharecommon interests. This interaction enhances the viewer's televisionviewing experience and allows the viewer to feel that they are activelyparticipating in the television program rather than merely viewing theprogram.

A typical interactive television system uses a set-top box, or similardevice, that receives television broadcasts and includes a modem thatconnects to a telephone line to allow transmission of data from theset-top box to the television broadcast source.

One type of interactive television system generates an indicator on thetelevision screen which informs the viewer that an interactive mode isavailable for the program being displayed on the current channel. Usingthis system, the interactive mode cannot be activated unless theindicator is displayed on the television screen. If the viewer does notactivate the interactive mode (for example, by pressing the appropriatebutton on a remote control device) within a particular time period, suchas fifteen seconds, then the indicator is removed from the televisionscreen. If the viewer later decides that they want to activate theinteractive mode, the viewer is required to change to another channeland change back to the original channel to re-display the interactivemode indicator. Once the indicator is displayed, the interactive modecan be activated by the viewer.

This type of interactive television system also requires a viewer tore-activate an interactive mode each time the viewer changes channels.For example, if the viewer has activated the interactive mode for aparticular television channel, changes channels, and returns to theoriginal channel (which was previously in interactive mode), the vieweris required to re-activate the interactive mode for that channel. Thus,the system does not maintain an interactive mode status for thetelevision channels. This repeated activation of the interactive mode istedious for viewers that change channels frequently.

Disclosed herein is an interactive television system that addresses theshortcomings discussed above by allowing the user to activate aninteractive mode regardless of whether a particular indicator isdisplayed on the television screen. Additionally, the interactivetelevision system maintains the interactive mode associated with eachchannel.

SUMMARY

The interactive television system described herein transmits andmaintains an interactive television mode or an online television mode ona channel-by-channel basis. Thus, the viewer is not required tore-activate the interactive mode or the online mode for a particularchannel that was previously activated. Additionally, the interactivetelevision system transmits and displays various indicators to notifythe viewer that an interactive mode and/or an online mode is supportedby the television program.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary network environment in which aninteractive television device transmits and receives data across theInternet and receives television signals from a television broadcastsource.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an interactive television device capable ofreceiving television signals and network data and generating videosignals for display on a display device.

FIGS. 3-6 illustrate various television screen images with differentinteractive television controls and status displays.

FIG. 7 illustrates a television screen image showing an online modeindicator and an option to switch to an associated web page.

FIG. 8 illustrates a television screen image showing both an interactivemode indicator and an online mode indicator.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure for displayingindicators that an interactive mode and/or an online mode is available.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure for handling arequest to enter an interactive mode for the current television program.

FIG. 11 illustrates a channel table that indicates the interactive modeand online mode status of one or more television channels.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure for establishing theproper interactive mode when changing television channels.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The interactive television system described herein allows the user toactivate an interactive television mode regardless of whether aparticular indicator is displayed on the television screen. Aninteractive television mode allows the television viewer to interactwith, for example, the broadcaster or developer of the televisionprogram. The interactive television system maintains the interactivemode associated with each channel on a channel-by-channel basis. Theinteractive television system also provides two separate indicators, oneindicating that an interactive television mode is available, and anotherindicating that an online television mode is available. An onlinetelevision mode allows the viewer to access one or more web pagesassociated with the television program.

Various examples and embodiments are described herein with reference totelevision programs. However, the systems and procedures describedherein can be used with any type of video segment or video program, andare not limited to television programs.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary network environment 100 in which aninteractive television device 108 transmits and receives data across theInternet 110 and receives television signals from a television broadcastsource 112. A client 102, servers 104 and 106, and the interactivetelevision device 108 are coupled to one another through the Internet110. Interactive television device 108 is capable of receiving varioustypes of data from one or more devices coupled to the Internet 110.Interactive television device 108 is also coupled to the televisionbroadcast source 112, which broadcasts television signals via acommunication link 114. Interactive television device 108 may receivetelevision signals from source 112 via cable, satellite, microwave,computer network, terrestrial (over the air) broadcast, or any othercommunication medium. Although not shown in FIG. 1, television broadcastsource 112 may have an associated server or other device coupled to theInternet 110, which allows the source 112 to broadcast televisionsignals via one medium (e.g., cable) and transmit other data related tothe television broadcast via the Internet 110. Alternatively, televisionbroadcast source 112 may transmit television signals as well as otherdata related to the television signals via the Internet 110.

Interactive television device 108 is also coupled to a display device116 via a video communication link 120. Video communication link 120 maybe a radio frequency (RF), s-video, composite video, component video, orother video link. Display device 116 may be any type of video displaysuch as a television, a monitor, a flat panel display or a videoprojection system. The interactive television device 108 can be, forexample, a set-top box, a game console, or a personal computer.Alternatively, interactive television device 108 may be integrated intoanother device such as a display device, a cable television receiver boxor a satellite receiver box.

When operating in an interactive mode, interactive television device 108typically receives television signals from source 112 via link 114.Interactive television device 108 communicates information to source 112via the Internet 110. Thus, multiple communication links are utilized toestablish an interactive session between the user of interactivetelevision device 108 (i.e., the viewer of display device 116) and thetelevision broadcast source 112. The television signal received on link114 typically includes a video program, such as a television program.The television signal may also include one or more identifiers thatindicate whether the current television program broadcast supports aninteractive mode and/or an online mode.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of interactive television device 108, which iscapable of receiving television signals and network data and generatingvideo signals for display on a display device. A television interface200 receives a broadcast television signal from broadcast source 112 oncommunication link 114. A video tuner 202 tunes the television signalreceived by interface 200. A data interface 206 provides abi-directional data interface between a data communication link 208 andinteractive television device 108. Data communication link 208 may useany type of communication medium and any communication protocol. In aparticular embodiment of the invention, data communication link 208 is atelephone line that provides a data connection to the Internet oranother data communication network, and data interface 206 includes amodem or other bi-directional data communication device. A data tuner204 tunes (i.e., retrieves) data received across communication link 208.Alternatively, data tuner 204 may tune (or decode) data contained in atelevision signal received on a communication link, such as link 114.

Interactive television device 108 includes one or more processors 210, arandom access memory (RAM) 212, a read-only memory (ROM) 214, and a massstorage device 216. Processor 210 is capable of implementing the variousprocedures and operations discussed herein. RAM 212 and mass storagedevice 216 provide for the storage of data, instructions, and otherinformation used by processor 210 during the normal operation ofinteractive television device 108. ROM 214 stores various parameters andbasic operating instructions used, for example, by processor 210. Anaudio/video interface 218 communicates audio and video signals acrosscommunication link 120 to a display device (such as display device 116).Although not shown in FIG. 2, interactive television device 108 may alsoinclude a remote control interface that allows a television viewer tocontrol the functions of the interactive television device using ahandheld remote control device.

Generally, the processor 210 of interactive television device 108 isprogrammed by means of instructions stored at different times in variouscomputer-readable storage media of device 108, such as RAM 212, ROM 214,and mass storage 216. The interactive television system described hereinincludes various types of computer-readable storage media when suchmedia contains instructions or programs for implementing the stepsdescribed herein in conjunction with a processor. The interactivetelevision system also includes the device 108 itself when programmedaccording to the methods and techniques described herein. Alternatively,the interactive television system can be implemented in hardware or acombination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. For example, one ormore application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) could beprogrammed to carry out the methods and techniques described herein.

FIGS. 3-6 illustrate various television screen images with differentinteractive television controls and status displays. Specifically, FIG.3 illustrates a television screen image for a television program thatdoes not have an associated interactive mode or online mode. Thetelevision display communicates information to the viewer about thecurrent program. A program title 250 is displayed along with the channel(“124”) and an abbreviated channel name 252 (i.e., “TRVL” for atravel-related channel). Three buttons are displayed along the bottom ofthe television screen shown in FIG. 3. A “TV Favorites” button 254allows the viewer to display a list of favorite television stations, a“Program Info” button 256 allows the viewer to display information aboutthe current program, and a “Go Interactive” button 258 (which isgrayed-out, indicating that the feature is not available) would allow aviewer to activate an interactive mode.

FIG. 4 illustrates another television screen image for a televisionprogram that has an associated interactive mode. The availability of aninteractive mode is indicated by an icon 262 and a “Go Interactive”button 264 that allows the viewer to activate an interactive mode. Theinteractive mode associated with the screen of FIG. 4 is identified by atitle 260, “Travel Journal Interactive.” The viewer activates theinteractive mode using a selection mechanism, for example, by pressingan appropriate interactive mode button on a remote control device or aset-top box. Alternatively, the interactive mode is activated byhighlighting the “Go Interactive” button 264 (for example, using arrowkeys on a remote control device or a set-top box) and activating thehighlighted button 264. If the viewer does not activate the online modewithin a particular period of time (such as fifteen seconds), the title260, icon 262, and button 264 are removed from the television screen.After button 264 is removed from the television screen, the viewer canstill activate an interactive mode by pressing, for example, anappropriate button on a remote control or a set-top box. Thus, the useris able to activate an interactive mode even though the indicators thatan interactive mode is available are no longer displayed on thetelevision screen.

FIG. 5 illustrates a television screen image that appears afteractivating the interactive mode through the screen shown in FIG. 4. A“Go Interactive” button 264 (FIG. 4) is replaced with a “Stop” button270, which allows the viewer to stop the activation of the interactivemode. A bar display 272 indicates that the interactive mode is beingactivated and shows the progress of the activation procedure. When theinteractive mode is fully activated, bar display 272 is removed from thetelevision screen. If the interactive mode can be established quickly,then the bar display 272 is not typically displayed. In this example,the interactive television device is a WebTV® Internet terminalmanufactured by WebTV Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of MicrosoftCorporation.

FIG. 6 illustrates a television screen image that appears after theinteractive mode has been activated. The screen shown in FIG. 6 includes“TV Favorites” and “Program Info” buttons 254 and 256 similar to thoseillustrated in FIG. 3. A “Stop Interactive” button 280 allows the viewerto exit the interactive mode and return to a non-interactive televisionviewing mode. An indicator 282 informs the viewer that an interactiveviewing mode is active. In the example of FIG. 6, an interactive window284 is opened to the right of a program window 286. Interactive window284 identifies a portion of the television screen that is used forinteractive purposes. Interactive window 284 allows the viewer tointeract with, for example, the television broadcast source. Examples ofthis interaction include answering a question or a poll, requestinginformation about a program or advertiser, or purchasing a product orservice. In FIG. 6, the viewer is asked to select their favoritevacation destination. Program window 286 displays the current televisionprogram, which is reduced in size to allow space for the interactivewindow 284. By displaying both windows 284 and 286 simultaneously, theviewer is able to watch both the television program and the interactivequestions or information displayed in window 284. Although a particulararrangement and sizing of windows is illustrated in FIG. 6, alternateembodiments may arrange and adjust the size of the displayed windows inany manner.

FIG. 7 illustrates a television screen image showing an online modeindicator and an option to switch to an associated web page. Theavailability of an online mode is indicated by an icon 292 and a “Go toWeb Page” button 294 that allows the viewer to activate an online mode.The “w” used in icon 292 represents that a web page (online mode) isavailable. The online mode associated with the screen of FIG. 7 isidentified by a title 290, “Travel Journal Online.” The viewer activatesthe online mode, for example, by pressing an appropriate button on aremote control or a set-top box. Activation of the online mode connectsthe viewer's interactive television device to a particular web pageassociated with the television program or an advertiser. A bar display(similar to bar display 272 in FIG. 5) is displayed while theinteractive television device establishes a connection with theappropriate web page. Once a connection is established with the webpage, the screen image may be divided into two or more display windows(for example, one window displaying the current program and the otherwindow displaying the associated web page). Alternatively, theinteractive television device may stop displaying the current programwhile in the online mode. This allows the entire television screen to beused for displaying the web page. In this example, the current programis re-displayed when the viewer finishes viewing the web page andactivates a “Stop” or “Stop Online” function.

If the viewer does not activate the online mode within a particularperiod of time, the title 290, icon 292, and button 294 are removed fromthe television screen. After button 294 is removed from the televisionscreen, the viewer can still activate the online mode by pressing anappropriate button on a remote control or a set-top box. Thus, the useris able to activate an online mode even though the indicators that anonline mode is available are no longer displayed on the televisionscreen.

FIG. 8 illustrates a television screen image showing both an interactivemode indicator 296 and an online mode indicator 298. These smallindicators 296 and 298 are less distracting to the viewer thandisplaying larger indicators, such as button 294 and title 290, shown inFIG. 7. The two indicators 296 and 298 notify the viewer that thecurrent television program has both an interactive mode and an onlinemode. Typically, the viewer does not activate both the interactive modeand the online mode simultaneously. The viewer is able to activateeither the interactive mode or the online mode by pressing anappropriate button on a remote control device or on a set-top box. Forexample, the remote control device or the set-top box may have buttonswith a design that matches the design of indicator 296 and indicator298. Activating one of these buttons activates the corresponding mode.Alternatively, the user may ignore both icons 296 and 298, and continueviewing the television program in a non-interactive, non-online mode.The two indicators 296 and 298 are removed from the television screenafter a particular time period, such as fifteen seconds. Although theindicators 296 and 298 are removed from the television screen, theviewer remains able to activate either the interactive mode or theonline mode by selecting appropriate button on the remote control deviceor the set-top box.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure for displayingindicators that an interactive mode and/or an online mode is available.A television broadcast source (such as source 112 in FIG. 1) broadcastsa television signal containing a television program and encodedinformation regarding available interactive modes and/or online modes(step 300). An interactive television device (such as device 108 inFIG. 1) receives the broadcast television signal and displays thetelevision program on a display device (step 302). The interactivetelevision device decodes the information regarding availableinteractive and/or online modes (step 304). Additionally, theinteractive television device decodes information regarding a web siteor network address for accessing the interactive data. The procedurethen determines whether an interactive mode is available (step 306). Ifan interactive mode is not available, then the procedure branches to astep that determines whether an online mode is available. If aninteractive mode is available, the interactive television devicedisplays an indicator that an interactive mode is available for thecurrent television program (step 308). This indicator may be any one ormore of the title 260, the icon 262, or the “Go Interactive” button 264shown in FIG. 4.

The procedure next determines whether an online mode is available (step310). If an online mode is not available, then the procedure branches tostep 314 without displaying an online mode indicator. If an online modeis available, the interactive television device displays an indicatorthat an online mode is available for the current television program(step 312). This indicator may be, for example, any one or more of thetitle 290, the icon 292, or the “Go to Web Page” button 294 shown inFIG. 7. The procedure continues displaying the television program (andany displayed indicators) on the display device (step 314). After apredetermined time period, such as fifteen seconds, any displayedindicators are removed from the display device (step 316). Removing anyindicators after a particular time period avoids creating a distractionto a viewer that is not interested in activating an interactive mode oran online mode.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure for handling arequest to enter an interactive mode for the current television program.An interactive television device receives a viewer request to enterinteractive mode for the current television program (step 320). Next,the interactive television device determines (e.g., from the decodedinformation contained in the television signal) whether an interactivemode is available for the current television program (step 322). If aninteractive mode is not available for the current television program,then the interactive television device displays a message on the displaydevice indicating that an interactive mode is not available for thecurrent television program (step 324). The interactive television devicecontinues displaying the current television program in non-interactivemode (step 326). In an alternate embodiment, the interactive televisiondevice ignores the viewer request to enter an interactive mode.

If an interactive mode is available for the current television program,then the interactive television device updates a channel table stored inthe interactive television device to indicate that the current channelis in an interactive mode (step 328). The interactive television deviceactivates an interactive session for the current television program(step 330). The network address or other information identifying thesource of the interactive data is decoded by the interactive televisiondevice from the television signal received from the television broadcastsource. The interactive television device continues displaying thecurrent television program in interactive mode (step 332). A proceduresimilar to that described with respect to FIG. 10 is used for handling arequest to enter an online mode for the current television program.

FIG. 11 illustrates a channel table that maintains various informationregarding different television channels, such as the interactive modeand online mode status of one or more television channels. In aparticular embodiment, the channel table is stored in the interactivetelevision device (e.g., using RAM 212 or mass storage 216).Alternatively, the channel table may be stored in any device that isaccessible by the interactive television device. The channel table canbe stored locally (e.g., on a device coupled directly to the interactivetelevision device) or remotely (e.g., on a server or other deviceaccessible via the Internet). Although FIG. 10 shows a single channeltable containing information relating to both interactive modes andonline modes, an alternate embodiment uses two separate tables, one forinteractive mode and another for online mode.

The channel table contains a first column 342 that indicates aparticular television channel. A column 344 indicates whether atelevision viewer has activated an interactive mode for an associatedchannel. In the example of FIG. 11, the viewer has activated aninteractive mode for channels 2, 17, and 28. A column 346 indicates thetime that the interactive mode was entered. For example, in FIG. 11, theinteractive mode for channel 2 was activated at 12:24 and theinteractive mode for channel 28 was activated at 13:05 (1:05 p.m.). Thetime that the interactive mode was entered is used by the interactivetelevision device to determine when to automatically deactivate theinteractive mode for a particular channel. For example, the interactivemode for a particular channel may be deactivated after one hour or atthe beginning of the next hour (e.g., 13:00, 14:00, etc.).

A column 348 indicates whether a television viewer has activated anonline mode for an associated channel. In the example of FIG. 11, theviewer has activated an online mode for channels 5 and 122. A column 350indicates the time that the online mode was entered for each channel inthe online mode. A column 352 indicates an interactive addressassociated with each channel in the interactive mode. A uniform resourcelocator (URL) or other address can be used to identify the source orlocation of the interactive content. A column 354 indicates an onlineuniform resource locator (URL) associated with each channel in theonline mode. The online television device uses the URL to retrieve theappropriate web page when the viewer activates the online mode. Forexample, channel 5 may have an associated online URL of“http://www.microsoft.com/events”. The entries in the channel tableshown in FIG. 11 are changed as the viewer activates or deactivates theinteractive mode or the online mode associated with one or morechannels.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure for establishing theproper interactive mode when changing television channels. Aninteractive television device receives a viewer request to changechannels (step 360). The interactive television device tunes therequested channel (step 362) and checks the channel table to determinewhether the new channel is already in interactive mode (step 364). Forexample, using the channel table shown in FIG. 11, the interactivetelevision device checks the entry in column 344 corresponding to thenew channel. If the new channel is not already in the interactive mode,the interactive television device displays the television programassociated with the new channel on the display device in non-interactivemode (step 368). If the viewer later activates an interactive mode forthe new channel, then the channel table will be updated to indicate thatthe new channel is in an interactive mode.

If the new channel is already in the interactive mode, the interactivetelevision device recreates the interactive session for the new channel(step 370). Recreating the interactive session includes redisplaying thelast page the viewer was viewing before they changed channels.Recreating the interactive session includes displaying an interactivewindow, such as interactive window 284 shown in FIG. 6. As discussedabove with respect to FIG. 2, the interactive television device includesmultiple tuners such that the interactive state of multiple channels canbe maintained simultaneously. Typically, a data tuner is less expensivethan a video tuner. An interactive television device can operate with asingle video tuner because a single video image is tuned at a givenmoment. The interactive television device does not typically need tocreate two different images from two different channels simultaneously.Furthermore, to maintain a connection with a broadcast source (such asan interactive source) or an online web page, data tuning is necessary,but video tuning is not required. Thus, a particular interactivetelevision device includes a single video tuner and multiple datatuners. Each additional data tuner allows the interactive televisiondevice to maintain the interactive state of another channelsimultaneously. For example, if an interactive television devicecontains one video tuner and ten data tuners, the device is able tomaintain the interactive state of eleven television channelssimultaneously.

After reactivating the interactive session for the new channel, theinteractive television device then displays the television programassociated with the new channel in interactive mode (step 372). Aprocedure similar to that illustrated in FIG. 12 is followed forestablishing the proper online mode when changing television channels.

The various information encoded in the broadcast signal regarding theavailability of an interactive mode and/or an online mode as well asother program information may be contained in a template. For example, atemplate may include a title field, a description field, an interactivemode field, an online mode field, and any other fields necessary todescribe the program or the various modes of viewing the program. Thetemplate may also contain information indicating a network address orURL necessary to allow the interactive television device to communicatewith the broadcast source or retrieve the appropriate web pages.Additionally, the template may contain information about the type ortypes of indicators that should be displayed to indicate theavailability of an interactive or online mode for a particulartelevision program.

In one embodiment, information about the availability of interactiveand/or online modes as well as one or more mode indicators is broadcastas part of the television signal using the Advanced TelevisionEnhancement Forum (ATVEF) specification version 1.1 (draft version) orany subsequent versions of the specification.

Thus, a system has been described that maintains the interactive mode orstatus on a channel-by-channel basis such that he viewer is not requiredto re-activate the interactive mode for a channel that was previouslyactivated. Additionally, the described system provides a system thatdisplays various indicators to notify the viewer that an interactivemode and/or an online mode is available

Although the invention has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological steps, it is to be understoodthat the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarilylimited to the specific features or steps described. Rather, thespecific features and steps are disclosed as preferred forms ofimplementing the claimed invention.

1. A computer implemented method of transmitting a television broadcastsignal comprising: transmitting a television broadcast signal comprisinga television program, a first indicator and a second indicator, wherein:the first indicator indicates that the television program supports aninteractive television mode, wherein interactive television comprisesbi-directional communication of data between the television broadcastsignal source and a client device; and the second indicator indicatesthat the television program supports an online television mode, whereinonline television comprises the client device accessing one or more webpages associated with the television program; activating the interactivetelevision mode if a viewer selects the first indicator; and activatingthe online television mode if the viewer selects the second indicator.2. A computer implemented method as recited in claim 1 wherein the firstindicator and the second indicator are icons.
 3. A computer implementedmethod as recited in claim 1 wherein the first indicator has anassociated network address.
 4. A computer implemented method as recitedin claim 1 wherein the first indicator has an associated uniformresource locator.
 5. A computer implemented method as recited in claim 1wherein the second indicator has an associated network address.
 6. Acomputer implemented method as recited in claim 1 wherein the secondindicator has an associated uniform resource locator.
 7. A computerimplemented method as recited in claim 1 wherein activating theinteractive television mode causes the client device to check a channelstatus list which is updated to reflect if the viewer has accessed aninteractive television mode for a particular channel, and checks to seeif a channel associated with the television program is in theinteractive television mode.
 8. One or more computer-readable memoriescontaining a computer program that is executable by a processor toperform the computer implemented method recited in claim
 1. 9. Acomputer implemented method of transmitting a television broadcastsignal comprising: transmitting a television broadcast signal comprisinga television program, a first indicator and a second indicator, wherein:the first indicator indicates that the television program supports aninteractive television mode, wherein interactive television comprisesbi-directional communication of data between a television broadcastsignal source and a client device; and the second indicator indicatesthat the television program supports an online television mode, whereinonline television comprises the client device accessing one or more webpages associated with the television program; activating the interactivetelevision mode if a viewer selects the first indicator; activating theonline television mode if the viewer selects the second indicator; andupdating a channel status list to indicate that the television programis being viewed in the interactive television mode or the onlinetelevision mode.
 10. A computer implemented method as recited in claim 9wherein updating the channel status list includes recording a time thatthe interactive television mode was activated for the associatedchannel.
 11. A method as recited in claim 9 wherein the channel statuslist identifies all channels for which the interactive television modehas been activated.
 12. A method as recited in claim 9 wherein aseparate tuning device maintains the interactive television status foreach channel.
 13. A method as recited in claim 9 wherein activating theinteractive television mode includes opening an interactive window. 14.A method as recited in claim 9 further comprising removing theindicators after a predetermined time period.
 15. One or morecomputer-readable memories containing a computer program that isexecutable by a processor to perform the method recited in claim
 9. 16.An apparatus comprising: a storage device for maintainingprocessor-readable instructions; and a processor coupled to the storagedevice and configured to execute the instructions to perform a methodcomprising: transmitting a television broadcast signal comprising atelevision program, a first indicator and a second indicator, wherein:the first indicator indicates that the television program supports aninteractive television mode, wherein interactive television comprisesbi-directional communication of data between a television broadcastsignal source and a client device; and the second indicator indicatesthat the television program supports an online television mode, whereinonline television comprises the client device accessing one or more webpages associated with the television program; receiving an indication ofactivation the interactive television mode if a viewer selects the firstindicator; receiving an indication of activation the online televisionmode if the viewer selects the second indicator; and utilizing thestorage device to store a television channel status list, wherein thetelevision channel status list maintains a list of television channelsfor which an interactive mode has been activated, and wherein thestorage device receives updates from the processor to add and deletetelevision channels from the interactive mode.
 17. An apparatus asrecited in claim 16 wherein the storage device receives requests fromthe processor regarding the current status of a particular televisionchannel.
 18. An apparatus as recited in claim 16 wherein the televisionchannel status list maintains a time that each television channel in theinteractive mode was activated.
 19. An apparatus as recited in claim 16wherein the television channel status list maintains a list oftelevision channels for which an online mode has been activated.
 20. Anapparatus as recited in claim 16 wherein the storage device receivesupdates from the processor to add and delete television channels fromthe online mode.